Trump likely to pull out of JCPOA: GOP senator

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker made the comment on CBS on Sunday as Trump was approaching a May 12 deadline for a decision on his administrations’ policy towards the internationally backed agreement.

“The Iran deal will be another issue that's coming up in May, and right now it doesn't feel like it's going to be extended. I think the president likely will move away from it, unless my — our European counterparts really come together on a framework. And it doesn't feel to me that they are,” said the Tennessee Republican.

“You think the president's going to pull out of that Iran deal on May 12th?” CBS anchor Margaret Brennan asked, to which Corker replied, “I do. I do.”

Trump has so far failed to make good on his 2016 campaign promise to pull out of the historic deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also endorsed by the UK, Germany, Russia, China and France.

Iran has warned Washington of making the “painful mistake,” while the Islamic Republic remains prepared for various scenarios in case the deal is violated.

"It has been fully foreseen in the JCPOA what measures the Islamic Republic of Iran would carry out if it cannot reap its (the agreement's) economic benefits," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters on Friday upon his arrival in Tehran from the Kazakh capital Astana.

Last week, Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson after a series of public rifts over policy, specifically their dispute on whether or not to stay in the Iran nuclear deal.

KD